Specifications:A zoom lens with large aperture from 24mm super-wide-angle.

From wide angle of view more than 80 degrees at 24mm to standard 135mm zoom lens, large aperture has been achieved. One Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass element and 2 Aspherical Lenses optimizes the optical performance. At 24mm focal length this lens has a fast F2.8 maximum aperture.

This lens has a super wide range of angles of view from 84.1 to 18.2 degrees. It incorporates an internal focusing system, which eliminates front lens rotation, allowing use of polarizing filters and Petal type hoods. The lens materials used in this new lens are lead and arsenic free ecological glass.

Surprisingly good results if you understand and workaround its limitations.
Excellent value for a general purpose walk around lens.

Cons:

Not the sharpest lens at max aperture.
Zoom creep.
Consumer construction.
Relatively large and heavy.

Let's get the obvious out of the way. This is not a pro level lens. It has its own warts and flaws. But it doesn't cost $1,000+. Saying that, the lens is a bargain and capable of delivering excellent results if you work within its strengths. My experience with the lens underscores the truth that you don't need expensive gear to capture great images.

I have used the lens on both DX and FX with good results. As you would expect, the lens shows its weakness at the extremes of the zoom range. Corners are soft and visible distortion on the wide end. Anything over 110mm is soft at max aperture. The lens excels in the 30-100mm range. Stop it down 1-2 stops and it delivers sharp photos with good color and contrast.

My satisfaction with the lens is so strong that I have purchased it in 2 different mounts: Pentax and Nikon. If you are on a budget or want a general purpose carry lens, this lens will serve you well.

Too soft (unusable) at the maximum aperture. Creeps to 135mm when hanging off the shoulder so easy to bump into things if you're distracted.

I bought this as a travel lens after my 28-100 was too short for a trip earlier this year. I really like the weight and build of this lens and once I am in around 2 stops, the thing is sharp.

The zoom ring is firm but not stiff and manual focussing is also OK.

What drives me nuts is that it is not just soft at its max aperture of f2.8, but at longer lengths you still need to be about 2 stops 'in' from the minimun to ensure results.

As a result, when I have some more money, I will seriously consider replacing this with Nikon's 24-120 VR.

Nov 8, 2007

gustabodOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Aug 5, 2006Location: AustraliaPosts: 3

Review Date: Jun 16, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

useful range, good quality results, my main walk about lens

Cons:

not very fast

For what I paid (approx USD 200 at Cameta Camera) it's been a very rewarding buy. Used on a Pentax K10D as a walk about lens, with a useful range (unless you need more width).

It's not EX rated, but my copy at least, is not far behind c/with the 28-70 EX F2.8 also from Sigma for example. Originally bought to use on an old film SLR, tried it on the K10D and it stayed there.

Recommended to anyone looking for an inexpensive mid range general purpose zoom for Pentax.

Jun 16, 2007

yganOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jun 14, 2007Location: HungaryPosts: 0

Review Date: Jun 14, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8

Pros:

zoom range, 24mm - f/2.8, a good general lens

Cons:

missing zoom lock switch, noisy AF

I love this lens, for travel, portrait, landscape. Better choice than an ultra zoom (e.g. 18-200).
Certainly not a perfect lens (for this price).
Only the zoom lock switch is missing, because the heavy front lens drags the objective.

Jun 14, 2007

hris TowertonOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Oct 24, 2006Location: AustraliaPosts: 0

Review Date: Oct 25, 2006

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 6

Pros:

Price, focal range, F2.8

Cons:

Soft wide open, zoom creep

Pre-purchase reasons for buying this lens:

· It sat well priced with my healthy but balanced hobby budget.

· It had, on paper at least, the ability to capture more images in low light, hand held.

· It cast a full frame image circle (making it more future proof and able to be shared with my film based camera).

· Its 24mm-135mm focal length would be good for 80% of the subjects I shoot, minimising lens changes and therefore dust on the sensor.

· It shared a 77mm filter with other lenses in its relative price and quality range, such as the SIGMA 135mm–400mm APO DG and SIGMA 10mm-20mm DC, suitably complementing a kit covering common focal lengths with no overlap.

· It has a manually selectable aperture ring (backwards compatible with my old SLR).

· It has internal focusing, making it more filter friendly.

Whilst researching this lens, I figured that the poor reports on sharpness and build quality etc. were a result of stepping up in the world of expectations, those above that of kit lenses. I reasoned that a lens of this price and specifications should not logically be compared (as some have) to the likes of “L” series lenses; and with this in mind, would likely see a big improvement on what I had experienced in my photographic infancy.

This position proved to be true of build quality, easily beating my kit lens when it came to the smoothness of zoom travel and general “feel”. Unfortunately I must agree with those that say this lens is not sharp; people will likely consider purchasing this lens for flash-less-indoor-“party” type use, thanks to its bright f2.8 aperture, but wide-open images are too soft to be anything but “ok” snapshots. If you are on a tight budget and you are specifically looking to shoot in low light, you may consider buying a fast pre-loved prime. That said, if you are able to stop down to around F8 results are more than acceptable.

After 5 months of use, my advice:

· If you can, don’t pay retail price for this lens; this should alleviate some expectations.

· If you have the money and image quality is your primary concern, this is probably not the lens for you.

· Compared with “kit” digital only lenses, this is a big and heavy lens.

· Best not to consider this lens for its wide-open abilities, at these apertures it is VERY SOFT.

· If you intend to shoot a lot of portraiture shots, you may be pleased with the soft-feathered affect to edges produced in images, especial from RAW conversions at wider apertures.

· Sharp images can be obtained at all focal lengths if you are able to stop down to around F8.

· Being bright or “fast”, does make for easier manual focus, which is handy because auto focus is poor in anything but the brightest of light on my Pentax *istD.

· It has fairly good “macro” (not strictly correct I know) abilities.

Conclusion

Value for money is not exclusively about absolute quality, nor does it have to be the cheapest price; it is the consideration of these things in balance. Do I like this lens? YES! Would I recommend it? Not specifically, make up your own mind based on your needs.

Reasonable quality, a lens which fits in well with my intended focal line-up, cheap enough to use without fear, wherever I intend to take photos……..

Oct 25, 2006

KingfishphotoOfflineImage Upload: On

Registered: Nov 26, 2005Location: United StatesPosts: 7548

Review Date: Apr 19, 2006

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 7

Pros:

Rather inexpensive for the focal length ranges it covers. Lens gets quite sharp as you move away from its widest angle, and away from F2.8. Is useful on all my Canon bodies, film and digital. Focused and gave nice results on each. I think auto focus noise level is about the same as my other Sigma lenses.

Cons:

Its widest angle, 24MM is really not usable at F2.8, in my opinion. However that said i would never use it there. Several times i have also grabbed the manual focus ring, instead of the zoom ring. Mostly due to operator error, or really just getting use to it.

Apr 19, 2006

stanzOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Dec 25, 2005Location: United StatesPosts: 4

Review Date: Dec 25, 2005

Recommend? no |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 5

Pros:

Decent price. Compact

Cons:

Very poor performance in low light conditions

I read the reviews on this lense before buying it so I knew what I was getting into. Still, I'm very disappointed in it's performance in low light.

I bought this to have an all around lense for goofing around with, especially at family functions, holidays etc. What I found is that under natural light, I'm pretty satisfied with the quality of shots that it produces.

However, when using flash, it's terrible. No other way to describe it. I just shot several hundred shots at a Xmas gathering and about 50% of them are so soft, that they're unusable.

Will be returning it ASAP. Got it for a Xmas gift and am very unhappy with it. I have another Sigma zoom which I'm delighted with so I guess you get what you pay for with this lense.

Dec 25, 2005

angeloksOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Nov 21, 2005Location: CanadaPosts: 630

Review Date: Dec 1, 2005

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $249.95
| Rating: 8

Pros:

Awesome price, great range (24-135), not that big for the aperture and range, very sharp at 5.6+, minimum aperture of 32.

Cons:

AF is noisy, cheap finish, zoom ring gets loose with time, very soft at 24mm-2.8f, bad access to the aperture ring.

I'm overall very satisfyied with that lens. 24mm is a nice wide angle (you just don't use it at 2.8). When going around to places where it wouldn't be safe to switch lens every 10min, this range is very useful.

You pay for what you get... It is not a top class optic, but for 300$ or so, you get a lot more for your money with Sigma than you'd get from Nikon.

Dec 1, 2005

rcattaniOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jul 9, 2005Location: BrazilPosts: 0

Review Date: Jul 9, 2005

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8

Pros:

very compact, good image quality, very versatile, good handling, solid built

Cons:

slow focus compared to HSM or Ultrasonic lenses

I bought it as a replacement for Canon lenses, but I got caught. This lens is a pleasure to use, with a 1.6 crop (on a 20D) image quality is decent wide open and very good stopped down (already good at 5.6). The zoom ring is a little stiff and the autofocus a little slow (it hunts), but overall it is a very usable lens.

Jul 9, 2005

MichaDOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Nov 29, 2004Location: GermanyPosts: 409

Review Date: Nov 29, 2004

Recommend? no |
Price paid: $280.00
| Rating: 4

Pros:

good range, quite fast for the price

Cons:

contrast/flare, zoom ring stiffnes

Maybe I am expecting too much from a consumer zoom but I got very few decent shots with this one. Bought this for the range. First thing I noticed was the relatively stiff zoom ring, it didn't bother me really but I soon learned why it was that way. After a few months it turned from quite stiff to really loose. Zoom creep is a constant problem now even when just slightly pointing up/down. The far bigger problem is the image quality though. Not that it's really soft (nor really very sharp) but the contrast is just way sub par. Images usually look very washed out to a degree even photoshop won't really help a lot. Also it flares a hell lot even with the included lens hood. Don't let the sun come even close to this. I suspect the contrast issue is due to the massive flare actually cause the only quite good pics I got were product shots with very soft light. AF was actually very fast for a non USM/HSM lens but tends to hunt a bit.

Nov 29, 2004

gogolOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Aug 1, 2002Location: SwitzerlandPosts: 175

Review Date: Sep 17, 2004

Recommend? no |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 2

Pros:

nice zoom range

Cons:

soooooft, build quality, loud and slow autofocus

I bought this lens because of the zoom range but I was really disappointed because it is so soft (and believe me, I did a lot of 'experiments'). Build quality is not what I expected from Sigma, autofocus is loud and slow.

Put it this way, I employ 4 photogs and they fight over this glass!
I also have 24-120 VR Nikkors's which is nowhere near as consistant as the Sigma.
The other great lense I own in this range is the Nikkor 28-200 ED, but the 24mm bittom end makes the Sigma just a great all rounder.

Jun 11, 2004

Cedric_gOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jan 13, 2004Location: FrancePosts: 263

Review Date: Jun 8, 2004

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $347.00
| Rating: 8

Pros:

(Very) fast AF for a non HSM lense, sharp between f5.6 and f11.0 (all range), very good construction, good range for DSLR

Cons:

Smooth at full aperture, strong barrel distorsion at wide angle

I initially bought this lens because I wished a lens for family and trips (and also for events like dog competitions !).

Quality is good while stepping down a stop, and becomes very good starting from f5.6 on all the focal range, it until f11 even f16. Be careful, this lens is not sharp at full aperture at 24mm.

The AF is extremely swift for a non HSM lense, but obviously not such a quiet. It's a good thing for dynamic subjects !

The distorsion is on the middle of the range, even if it is strong at wide angle (1.6% barrel) ; but I don't use this lense for architecture ;-)

I bought this lens for mountain biking, hiking and boating - locations that I wouldn't risk an expensive lens. I expected much worse performance than it actually delivers when stopped down at least a couple of stops.

If you are looking for a pro quality lens, don’t buy this one - spend the extra $1,000. and buy a Nikkor ED or Canon L lens. This is a very low cost lens, you decide if it is worth $300. to you:http://morrobayphotos.com/Sigma/24-135/

Edited Jan 2005 to Add:
After shooting with this lens for a year (9,000+ images) it has paid for itself several times over through image sales - I still like it and use it. Because of the heavy use, it is developing a lot of play (slop) in the lens barrel.